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Chapter 1 of 100

Chapter 1

3 min read626 words

Hello,

I am a passerby from the village.

Nice to meet you.

Death comes suddenly.

From unexpected places, at unexpected times.

In front of me is a large truck.

Time moves slowly. Regrets float up and disappear one after another in my mind.

Friends, my part-time job boss, university professors. Come to think of it, I didn't hand in that report...

Finally, the orphanage kids.

I never thought I'd have to say thank you with life insurance.

I wish I could have led a more thrilling life.

Just as I thought that, I heard a child's laughter and the sound of my bones shattering.

__________

When I came to, I was in the middle of a forest...

I looked around and gazed up at the sky.

The moon shining in the sky is slightly larger than the one I know.

The trees illuminated by the moonlight are enormous. How many times taller than me are they? They are all giant trees.

Is this the afterlife?

I've heard that there should be the Sanzu River and endless fields of flowers, but I see none of that.

This afterlife seems rather meager.

What the hell is this...

Suddenly, I felt something bitter in my mouth.

When I spat it out, it was grass.

Why am I eating grass?

That's when I realized I was extremely hungry.

Dizziness, fatigue, and exhaustion overwhelmed my body.

I need to eat something or I'll die...

I have to find something to eat.

Acorns, mushrooms, anything that I can put in my mouth.

Suddenly, a large centipede entered my field of vision.

Normally, I would scream and run away, but for some reason, I just stared at it.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed to have quite a lot of muscle.

I remember that the poison is in the mouth, so if I can avoid that, it should be edible...

...

...

I'll eat it.

The first centipede I ate was terrible.

____________

"Come to think of it, is it okay with parasites?"

I became worried after swallowing the centipede.

I was a bit too calm...

Lack of nutrition can make you this stupid.

But I don't know how to make a fire, so I had to eat it raw.

I chewed it well, so it should be fine, it should be. Probably.

If I had hesitated, I might have starved to death.

I can only pray about the parasites.

"I'm thirsty..."

I started walking in search of water.

I want to get rid of the taste of the centipede in my mouth as soon as possible.

After walking for about ten minutes, I found a stream.

I remembered that it's better not to drink raw water, but I don't know how to make a fire, so there's no choice.

"Don't come back to life..."

Water is indeed important.

The water looks clear, so it should be fine with parasites. Probably.

I peered into the water of the stream.

There, under the moonlight, was my face...

...

...

...

Who is this guy?

The reflection in the water was that of a gaunt child with gray hair.

??????

Wait, wait, the water must be wrong. Light reflections can be wrong sometimes.

I tried to escape from the reality in front of me with some illogical reasoning in my head.

I tentatively touched my cheek.

I could feel the bones protruding.

I wasn't fat, but I wasn't this thin.

Next, I pulled on my hair. It was gray.

I am a typical Japanese person and should have black hair...

It's reality.

In other words, this is that famous thing.

"I must have reincarnated..."

I looked up at the night sky.

A moon, more than twice the size of Earth's moon, shone in the night sky.